Reflections on an Undergraduate Public History Course

Ryan Gosling Sitting at a bar. Words written "Hey Girl, Combining my image with theory is an outstanding exercise in Public History praxis"

This fall I had the opportunity to teach "Select Topics in Community-Based Public History", a third-year history course at Algoma University.  This was my first time designing and being the sole instructor for a course.  Now that the dust has settled and all my marks are in I thought I would use this post to … Continue reading Reflections on an Undergraduate Public History Course

Announcing the Historical Reminiscents Podcast

White circle on blue background with text reading "Historical Reminiscents Podcast"

If you know me chances are you also know I have serious feels about podcasts.  I like them.  A lot.  For over a year I've been tossing around the idea of starting my own podcast.  I went back and forth numerous times on what to create a podcast about -  public history, fandom, or craft … Continue reading Announcing the Historical Reminiscents Podcast

Reflecting on Camping and the Parks System

I've went camping twice this summer and stayed at three Provincial Parks in Ontario as part of that experience.  I've been thinking a lot about the complicated nature behind the parks system, the dispossession of Indigenous people from parks and the lack of acknowledgement of the traditional usage of the land by Parks.  None of … Continue reading Reflecting on Camping and the Parks System

Teaching: Select Topics in Community-Based Public History

This fall I'll be teaching HIST 3296: Select Topics in Community-Based Public History at AlgomaU. I'm thrilled to have this opportunity and excited to be able to share my love of public history with students. From the course calendar: The course will introduce students to the theory and practice of community-based public history, with reference … Continue reading Teaching: Select Topics in Community-Based Public History

Meyer May House

During a recent trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan I had the opportunity to visit the Meyer May House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.  The house was commissioned in 1908 by Meyer S. May and was built between 1908-1909 by Wright.  It is considered an example of Wright's Prairie School era work.  In 1985 Steelcase, a … Continue reading Meyer May House

Wikithon Roundtable Recording

As I mentioned earlier, I am very happy to be co-hosting the "Weikipedia As Outreach And Activism For Canadian History" with Jessica Knapp of Canada's History Society. Last week we ran our first webinar which featured Jade Pichette, Skylee-Storm Hogan, and Ezra Winton discussing their experiences editing Wikipedia, hosting edit-a-thons, and sharing advice for those … Continue reading Wikithon Roundtable Recording

Frederik Meijer Sculpture Park and Gardens

Recently while I was visiting Grand Rapids, Michigan and had an opportunity to spend time exploring the Frederik Meijer Sculpture Park and Gardens.  It was a wonderful few hours on a gorgeous summer day and I loved the mixture of art, nature, and cultivated gardens.  The Gardens opened in 1995, sits on 158 acres and … Continue reading Frederik Meijer Sculpture Park and Gardens

Reading: Make Roanoke Queer Again

The latest issue of The Public Historian featured a number of great articles including "Make Roanoke Queer Again: Community History and Urban Change in a Southern City" by Gregory Rosethal. This article explores the specifics of interpreting queer history in Roanoke, Virgina but also focuses more broadly on queer community history projects, resistance through grassroots history, and … Continue reading Reading: Make Roanoke Queer Again

Reflection: 2016 Accomplishments

For the past few years I've reflected on my professional practice and accomplishments at the end of the year.  I'm going to continue that tradition with this blog post albeit in a slightly more list based format than the reflective posts I've done in the past. In 2016 I did a lot of things including: … Continue reading Reflection: 2016 Accomplishments